David Filner assumed the administrative leadership of the San Antonio Symphony in November, 2012. Led by Music Director Sebastian Lang-Lessing, the San Antonio Symphony is celebrating its 73rd year this season.

Note: This is an mySA.com City Brights Blog. These blogs are not written or edited by mySA or the San Antonio Express-News. The authors are solely responsible for the content.

Performing three complete Beethoven symphonies in one concert is a huge challenge, both musically and physically. That is why, if the Symphony ever tries this again, we shall substitute this version of the Fifth to give the orchestra a brief rest: (Thanks to SASym Principal Second Violin Mary Ellen Goree for the tip about this […]
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Saturday’s Express-News review by David Hendricks asked this critical question, “Isn’t that why we go to concerts like this, to leave behind the messiness of daily life to encounter order and art?” The Beethoven Festival is an attempt to answer this important question. By offering all 9 symphonies, 32 piano sonatas, 10 violin sonatas, 5 […]
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Stravinsky called Beethoven’s Grosse Fuge, “an absolutely contemporary piece of music that will be contemporary forever.” Monday and Tuesday, the SOLI Chamber Ensemble will explore Beethoven’s masterpiece in a unique, fun, extremely creative, but challenging way. Beethoven originally intended the Grosse Fuge to be the final movement of his String Quartet No. 13, Op. 133. […]
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Yesterday, Jim Berg talked to Music Director Sebastian Lang-Lessing about Beethoven symphonies 2, 4, and 5 and produced this video. These three symphonies will be performed tonight and tomorrow night (January 20 & 21, 2012) at the Majestic Theatre, beginning at 8 p.m. Both houses are looking quite full, with a very limited supply of […]
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For those that don’t read orchestral scores (and that’s most of us), appreciating the way Beethoven develops his simple four note theme in the first movement of his Symphony No. 5 is difficult. But this graphic representation makes it a bit easier. Listen and watch how Beethoven uses three short notes followed by one long […]
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On Friday and Saturday (January 20 & 21) the Symphony continues our portion of the Beethoven Festival with symphonies no. 2, 4 and 5. While it is now one of the most famous of symphonies, Symphony No. 5 wasn’t as popular during Beethoven’s lifetime. The third symphony and the slow movement of the seventh were […]
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In the next seven days, two of the most unusual programs in the Beethoven Festival are being offered by Musical Bridges Around the World and the SOLI Chamber Ensemble. In both cases, Beethoven is being used as a point of departure to explore new works. Beethoven’s influence is arguably larger than any other composer in […]
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The title of this blog is a little deceiving. No, Beethoven has not just opened his own Facebook page!?! But, the Symphony’s Facebook page (click here) has grown to almost 3,000 fans! In an attempt to put us over the 3,000 mark, we are going to make a special Facebook-Only Beethoven Festival Offer tomorrow (Wednesday, […]
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Critics have called Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 23 in F minor, Op. 57, “Appassionata” his most “impassioned work and his most violent musical utterance.” (from the BBC) From this same article, a writer during Beethoven’s time said, “I know nothing that is greater than the Appassionata; I would like to listen to it every day. […]
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I’ll bet you didn’t think I could get Martin Luther King Day and Beethoven mentioned in the same blog? Well, here is a quote by Dr. King that does it for me, If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music, or […]
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